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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. club — a group
  4. row — a line
  5. club — for golf
  6. stand — to bear
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. wake — a trail
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mate — to breed
  14. row — to paddle
  15. mate — a friend
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. race — humankind
  20. rash — a series
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  24. mate — a partner

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com